Author Tuesdays: Writing About Children for Adults

AWP Panel with Suzanne Berne, Ann Pancake, Melanie Rae Thon, and Kent Meyers.

What makes for a compelling child character in literary fiction?

Here was my take-away from the panel:

• Children are unable to pretend not to see what's in front of them such as the homeless person in front of a Bloomingdale's
• Children don't always have purpose in what they do or where they go
• Children's dreams can be small (such as taking a bath every day or going to the neighbor's tree house).
• Children can have unexpected insights
• Children create unusual metaphors
• Children are a natural fit for stream-of-consciousness writing style

What other advice do you have for an adult writing a compelling child character?